Tabiona man charged in bow-and-arrow attack on deputies

Michael L. Weaver is charged in 8th District Court with four counts of attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and six other felonies. Weaver, 47, is accused of shooting at Duchesne County sheriff's deputies with a compound bow when they arrived at his Tabiona home Sunday, July 7, 2013, to investigate a neighbor's complaint against Weaver. Court records show Weaver was charged July 2, 2013, with aggravated assault. Deputies say he fired a crossbow twice at a neighbor in that case.

A Tabiona man who is already accused of firing a crossbow at a neighbor has been charged with attempted aggravated murder after Duchesne County deputies say he shot three arrows at them during a 3-hour standoff.

DUCHESNE — A Tabiona man who is already accused of firing a crossbow at a neighbor is facing new charges after deputies say he shot three arrows at them during a three-hour standoff.

A Duchesne County deputy went to Michael Weaver's home about 3:30 p.m. Sunday after he received a complaint that Weaver was making threatening phone calls to a neighbor.

While speaking with Weaver, the deputy asked him about a report that he had a .22-caliber handgun.

"(Weaver) told him if he had a firearm, he'd be dead already," Duchesne County Sheriff's Chief Deputy David Boren said. Weaver then pulled a knife from behind his back and began waving it around, according to charging documents.

The deputy backed away from Weaver with his gun drawn and called for backup, Boren said. Meanwhile Weaver ducked into a camp trailer.

"As the (backup) officers arrived to talk to him, to try to get him out, he started firing a bow at them through a broken window, firing arrows at them," Boren said.

None of the arrows fired from the compound bow hit the deputies, but one glanced off a patrol car. The arrows were aluminum and some were tipped with razor-sharp broadhead points, Boren said.

"If those had struck an officer it would have definitely done some real harm and possibly killed them," he said.

Weaver continued to yell threats at the deputies and also threatened to kill himself, according to Boren. He also allegedly fired several more arrows inside the trailer and was seen with three knives.

"After three hours of negotiating with him, we felt we need to step it up a little bit," he said.

Authorities decided to have two specialized "pepperball guns" brought to the scene from the Duchesne County Jail. The guns — similar to paintball guns — are designed to fire plastic balls filled with powdered pepper spray or other less-lethal substances.

Deputies used pepper rounds and inert training rounds filled with a scented powder to pin Weaver down inside the trailer, disarm him and arrest him, Boren said.

Before being booked into jail, Weaver was taken to Uintah Basin Medical Center for a medical clearance. While there, he tried to disarm a deputy and also pulled out an IV and sprayed two deputies with blood, court records state.

On Tuesday, Duchesne County prosecutors charged Weaver with four counts of attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, one count of disarming a police officer, a first-degree felony, three counts of making terroristic threats, a second-degree felony, and two counts of propelling a substance at a police officer, a third-degree felony.

Those charges come in addition to an aggravated assault charge that was filed against Weaver on July 2 in 8th District Court. In that case, Weaver is accused of firing two crossbow bolts at a neighbor. The crossbow was seized as evidence after the incident, Boren said.

Weaver remained in the Duchesne County Jail, where he's being held in lieu of $1 million bail.